Stepping-in-place exercise is considered to be easy and safe for the elderly, but improvement is required due to the lack of interactive entertainment. Therefore, integrating stepping-in-place exercise into serious games can be a method for both encouraging the elderly to exercise and enhancing the entertainment for users. It is necessary to understand the stepping motion involved in order to develop a suitable serious game for the elderly. The following main findings are applicable and promote the development of serious games by stepping-in-place. 1） The metabolic rate of stepping-in-place can range from 2.5 to 5.9 METs by adjusting stepping rhythm or foot elevation. 2） The hip flexion angle can be predicted by monitoring the double stance phase of stepping-in-place. 3） Serious games by stepping-in-place are an easy exercise, and the exercise intensity is both efficient and safe for the elderly.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the optimal height of bathtubs for bathing newborns to reduce midwives’ physical workload. In this study, two experiments were conducted. First, we examined the relationship between anthropometric data and bathtub height to determine the height that allowed for easier use （adjustable height: AH） by subjective evaluation of the operator. Anthropometric data and AH were found to have a strong positive correlation （p＜0.01）. A regression line based on height was calculated. AH was an average of 57.7％ of height and was an average of 55.0 mm below elbow height. Next, we compared physical workload across four bathtub height conditions using electromyograms of the muscles and a biomechanical model of work posture. ％MVC of erector spinae muscles, spinal compression of L5/S1, and lumbar load were shown to be greater when the height of the bathtub was lower. ％MVC of trapezius muscle and shoulder joint moment were increased when the height of the bathtub was higher, and it was presumed that the load to the shoulder and upper limbs was large. AH was shown to be the optimal bathtub height in terms of load on the lumbar spine and upper limbs and the reduction in physical workload. We recommend that the height of bathtubs be set to AH based on the height of each operator.

Correlations among weighted workload （WWL） scores, simple average of six subscales （RTLX: Raw TLX） and adaptive weighted workload （AWWL） scores and, between weights and subscales （order） were investigated when each score was obtained after several tasks. In experiment 1, three levels of task difficulties were set in multi-attribute task battery. Six tasks （self-paced and machine-paced （twice） mental arithmetic tasks, Raven progressive matrix test, embedded figures test, mirror tracing task） were administered in experiment 2. Results indicate that significantly high correlation coefficients were obtained （Exp.1: WWL-RTLX .84，R-TLX-AWWL .96，WWL-AWWL .88．Exp.2: RTLX-WWL .95，RTLX-AWWL .98，WWL-AWWL .96）. Correlation coefficients between weights and subscales were .73 （ns） in Exp.1 and .83 （p＜0.05） in Exp.2. As shown in other reports, the utility of RTLX and AWWL which do not need paired comparisons is suggested. Furthermore, AWWL may be more sensitive than RTLX.

Questionnaire research on evacuation behavior in the 2018 flood disaster in western Japan was administered and self-estimation of motor performance was conducted with participants who encountered the 2018 flood. A step task and a pegboard task were used to evaluate motor performance, using the length of a stride in the step task and the time taken to complete the pegboard task as measures of motor performance. Discrepancies between actual motor performance and self-estimation of motor performance were measured so that as participants were overconfident about their own motor performance, the numerical value of the discrepancy increased; this was defined as the estimated stride length minus the actual stride length in the step task, and the actual time taken minus the estimated time taken to complete the pegboard task. Participants were separated into two groups based on their answers regarding evacuation intentions. The two groups were Y2, in which participants answered that they attempted to evacuate, and N2, in which participants answered that they did not. The discrepancies between actual and self-estimated performance for the two groups Y2 and N2 were compared. Results indicated that the motor performance estimation discrepancies for Y2 participants were smaller than the discrepancies for N2 participants, which suggests that people who underestimate their own motor performance may be more likely to evacuate when receiving information about a disaster.